


The Human Influence

by GloryGrl



Category: Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 09:31:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12861705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GloryGrl/pseuds/GloryGrl
Summary: Maria and Natasha work together to stop a group of evil scientist from using alien technology that could threaten all life on earth.





	The Human Influence

The Stark Industry genome and bioinformatics research facilities were on the 44th floor of Stark Tower. The spacious lab contained large glass windows that provided an impressive view of Manhattan. The researcher standing across from Maria was a very thin, very tall man with a neatly trimmed beard that covered most of his face. His pale skin glistened with a slight sheen of sweat. He wore black square rimmed glasses and burgundy corduroy pants. Beneath a white lab coat, his food stained t-shirt displayed Captain America’s shield. Maria had an instinctive dislike of people who wore shirts with the Avengers on them.

His name was Dr. Milton Lemon. Of course, Maria thought, he would be a Milton. He eyes held excitement as he explained the analysis of the files Maria had dropped off earlier in the week.

Maria interrupt the man “Can you explain that again, in English this time?” She made sure to force a friendly smile on her face to compensate for the sharpness of her tone.

Milton’s skin flushed and he snickered “I think someone is pulling your leg, Ms. Hill. We aren’t even close to possessing the technology that would be required for these data to be remotely possible. Plus, a large percentage of the DNA sequences don’t contain a match in any database and they contain DNA bases Q and B.” Milton finished his statement with a look that bordered on condescending. Maria never understood how people could make assumptions about what was normal or expected after wormholes opened over New York City. Not to mention the waves of Chitauri, a cybernetic alien race, that came pouring out of the wormholes in an attempt to conquer earth.

Maria tilted her head and gently squeezed Milton’s shoulder, letting her fingers slide down the man’s arm as she pulled away. “Let’s pretend anything is possible,” Maria replied.

Milton’s smile turned goofy and he nodded enthusiastically. “Anything possible” he said, “sure.” He furrowed his eyes and began pacing in front of Maria. His head tilted back and forth. He tapped his hands rhythmically against his thighs. Maria presumed he was organizing his thoughts, trying to find the words that she would be able to comprehend. But maybe this was some weird ritual of his that she wasn’t familiar with.

He spun and turned towards Maria. His hands began moving before the words could tumble out of his mouth. “Let’s assume we knew exactly how all genomes are regulated, which we don’t. And that we knew the relationship between one’s genotype and their phenotype, which we are also just beginning to understand. And that we understood how all the different cell types and tissues worked together as a functioning system, which again is not something we are even close to...”

“What does the data mean?” Maria interrupted.

“Creation of a completely new kingdom on earth.” Milton replied dramatically. His statement was accompanied by a flourish of his arms. His smile turned nervous as Maria stared at him impassively. “I mean, uh, it’s all in the summary report I prepared for you. The implications are only limited by your imagination. You can create all sorts of organisms maximizing their potential for strength, speed, intelligence. You can eliminate all diseases, create a deadly virus that would kill us all…”

Milton became more and more animated as he continued to speak. Maria tuned him out and began turning over his words. She had no doubt that alien technology was involved. Humans may be decades away from understanding how our cells are working and communicating with each other, but there must be places in this universe that have a comprehensive knowledge of how to engineer events at the molecular level. Maria wondered how their technology made it to Earth and whose hands it ended up in.

“Anyway,” Maria said, picking up the files that were sitting on Milton’s lab bench. Maria made a mental note to wash her hands as soon as she steps out of the lab and erase all the data that Milton may have left on his computers, phone, or the Stark servers. Maria leaned in slightly and smiled. “Thank you for taking the time to provide me with your analysis Dr. Lemon." She waited to continue until his body language mirrored her own. "I bet it’s just Tony messing with me.”

Milton’s eyes widen at her mention of Tony Stark. In her initial visit, Maria made sure to plant the suggestion that Tony Stark may have written a mock report as an ongoing challenge between the two of them. She called the game "Real or Fake News." Maria requested Milton’s help in extrapolating the data, but swore him to secrecy in order to beat Tony at his own game. It was her job to list all the reasons why the report was "Fake News" and what the data would mean if it were real. This lie served two functions. It would motivate Milton to do his best work and would encourage him to keep quite if he wanted to be included again in the future.

“Even if it was a prank, my analysis is scientifically sound.” Milton said. He smiled and bit his lower lip as he regarded Maria

For a moment, Maria said nothing and smiled back. Then she nodded her head, turned, and walked out of the lab. The young man had left a definitive odor in the air, a pungent, chemical smell. Maria missed the good old days at S.H.I.E.L.D. when she had the authority and resources to discreetly investigate that latest life threatening technology without having to play nice. As Maria returned to her office, she wondered when Natasha would be dropping by to pick up the files. A warmth spread across Maria’s chest as she contemplated all the wonderful and dangerous situations Natasha might be dragging her into.

**Author's Note:**

> I was reading Benjamin Black's "The Lemur" when I decided to write this. I used some of his words as a jumping off point.


End file.
